As a youngster, Usher sang in church choirs but sought entry into the mainstream music industry by entering talent shows. At age 12 he moved with his mother and brother to Atlanta, and two years later he secured a recording contract with LaFace Records. Usher was released in 1994, with the 15-year-old singer moving beyond his choirboy background by proclaiming that “it’s only a sexual thing” on the slow-groove single Can U Get wit It. The album was not a commercial success, and Usher spent the next few years working on a follow-up, My Way (1997), which marked him as a major R&B star. His singles You Make Me Wanna and Nice & Slow topped the R&B charts (the latter was also a number one pop song), and the performer reached greater audiences through appearances on television shows (he had a recurring role on UPN’s Moesha series). In onstage performances, he showed prowess as a dancer that was as notable as his fluid singing voice.

His third studio album, 8701 (2001), further cemented Usher’s reputation as a smooth, seductive, and bankable artist. Music from 8701 gave Usher two number one pop hits, U Remind Me and U Got It Bad, and his first two Grammy Awards. He continued to make appearances in various television shows, including the period drama American Dreams (2002) in the role of Marvin Gaye, before releasing his fourth album, Confessions, in 2004. The album, which sold more than one million copies during its first week of release, featured Usher extending his range beyond ballads, collaborating most famously with Atlanta rappers Lil Jon and Ludacris. At the 2004 Billboard Music Awards, he collected 11 trophies and was named overall artist of the year.

The awards continued to accumulate in 2005. Usher won two prizes at the People’s Choice Awards and three more at the Grammys—for best contemporary R&B album, best R&B performance by a duo or group (with Alicia Keys for My Boo), and best rap/sung collaboration (with Ludacris and Lil Jon for Yeah!). In 2005 Usher also starred as a disc jockey who protects a mobster’s daughter in the film In the Mix, though his acting, and the film as a whole, received unfavourable reviews. The following year he portrayed Billy Flynn in the long-running Broadway musical Chicago.

After a four-year break, Usher returned to recording with Here I Stand (2008), a soulful album that saw the brash lothario of 8701 and Confessions settle into the routine of family life. The follow-up album, Raymond v. Raymond (2010), continued to serve as a window into Usher’s private life, but it was a dark reflection of Here I Stand, as it traced the disintegration of his marriage. In 2011 Raymond v. Raymond won a Grammy for best contemporary R&B album, and the single There Goes My Baby won best male R&B performance.

In addition to performing, Usher became a part owner of the National Basketball Association’s Cleveland Cavaliers in 2005. His charity work included New Look Foundation, an organization he established to help educate youths from lower-class backgrounds about the business of entertainment management. The organization was also involved in the efforts to rebuild New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina (2005).